A Hard Lesson To Learn
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: The trainees faces changed from nervous to awed as thirty two year old Auror Harry Potter took the podium. Minor mentions of Draco/Harry at the end.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise. **

**AN - Warning - There is Harry/Draco love at the end, so please read with caution if that isn't your thing. **

**Written for the Hogwarts Defence Against The Dark Arts Class using the prompts Spike/Glow/Fall. **

**A Hard Lesson To Learn **

_They were being chased, hunted down like wild animals. Spells shot behind them, coming closer and closer to hitting them as the ran away. It was getting colder and colder, and the air was hitting their lungs like spikes, sharp and cold, and bloody painful. The cold could only mean one thing. Those pursuing them had been joined by Dementors. _

_The glow of spell light lit up the trees, allowing them to see as they ran, always scared of tripping over something, of a fall, of becoming prey to the monsters that chased them. _

_Harry, Ron and Hermione ducked under trees and jumped over roots. They split up to move around obstacles, or to shoot back spells or Patroni, but they always joined back together, running closely, watching each other's backs. _

"And this, is a prime example of what is expected of you. Watching your partners back is the biggest part of being an Auror, and unless you can prove to us that this will always be your main priority, you may as well get your cloak and leave, because you will never graduate the academy," Kingsley finished in a stern voice, watching the nervous faces of the newest batch of trainee Aurors.

"Auror Potter, if you'd like to take the stand?" Kingsley asked, and the faces of the trainees changed from nervous to awed in a second as thirty two year old Harry Potter took the podium.

"This," he said, gesturing to the screen behind him, "happened when the three of us were nineteen. We thought we were safe. We thought the danger was gone. Voldemort had been dead over a year, most of the Death Eaters had been rounded up, and the Dementors had all but been destroyed. This is what happened because of our carelessness. We made ourselves a target."

Harry looked around the room, running a hand through his hair. These barely out of school kids had no idea of the horrors, or the absolute terror, that the war had caused. They were all born to late to truly appreciate how hard it had been.

"The trust you have in your partner must be absolute. It must be complete. It must be the same trust that I share in the memory you just watched, with my two best friends. I thought I would never have that kind of trust with anyone else, but I had to learn to trust my partner the same way you do. It was a hard lesson to learn, to know that I was entrusting my life to the hands of someone I didn't like, nor trust at all. You all know my partner is Auror Malfoy, and we've worked together for six years now. Auror Malfoy, care to share your learning curve with the trainee's?" Harry asked, laughing inwardly when Draco glared at him for a moment before he walked over to the podium.

"You all know the details of the war, even if you don't remember them from when it was actually happening. Auror Potter and myself fought on opposite sides, and when we both joined the Auror division, we disliked each other a lot and distrusted each other even more. Neither of us were happy to be paired together, and at first, it was a complete and unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. We fought. A lot. And even hexed each other a few times. But we learned, very slowly, that if we wanted to keep our jobs and our lives, we would have to work together. The bond between you and your partner runs deeper than any other, except maybe that of a spouse. You must learn and you must put everything you learn into practise every day. It could mean your life, if you don't."

Kingsley led the applause as the two Aurors stepped down and left the hall.

The two of them walked side by side, until they reached an anti-chamber off the hall. They could hear Kingsley speaking again, but they had done as he had asked, and now it was time for them to cash in on the favour they had done him. Picking up the suitcases they had left, they walked hand in hand to the portkey office, and within five minutes, they were at the hotel they would call home for the next two weeks.

Sharing a kiss on the balcony, they were both glad they had taken Kingsley up on his offer.


End file.
